9276http://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/philbrown
games mostlyen-GB(C) 2015http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rssWarwick Blogs, University of Warwick, http://blogs.warwick.ac.uk120Fallout 3: Apocalyptic byhttp://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/philbrown/entry/fallout_3_apocalyptic/
<div class="reviewDetails">
<img src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51vDMbqJ7%2BL._SL160_.jpg" alt="Game front cover">
<dl><dt>Title:</dt><dd><a title="View game on Amazon" href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bethesda-Fallout-3-PC/dp/B0017Y38H0%3Fpsc%3D1%26SubscriptionId%3D0E0TF6FTJRRVY83XQ982%26tag%3Dwebservices-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB0017Y38H0">Fallout 3 (PC)</a></dd><dt>Publisher:</dt><dd>Bethesda</dd><dt>ASIN:</dt><dd>B0017Y38H0</dd><dt>Rating:</dt><dd><img src="/blogbuilder/static/images/stars-5-0.gif" alt="5 out of 5 stars" title="5 out of 5 stars"></dd></dl>
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<p>The setting: a post-apocalyptic version of the US that got stuck in the 50s culturally, but advanced massively in technology - I haven't played the first two, but I just love that off-kilter setting. The SPECIAL system that defines your underlying stats (Strength etc) is familiar territory, while it's slightly more complex than the standard AD&amp;D ability scores, I've seen (for example) the Luck attribute appear in quite a few JRPGs.<br />
<br />
Ok, it's mostly Oblivion with guns, but with a few significant differences - the biggest being the VATS combat system. This is an optional mode where you can freeze the action and auto-aim at a specific part of a monster, as many times as your Action Points allow. It goes all slo-mo cinematic and your proximity, line of sight, skills (and Luck) take over, with you hitting like it's a turn-based combat game - then it jumps back to real-time so you can dodge any retaliation while your APs regenerate. Non-VATS is just like a normal FPS, and the main reason the PC release shades the console ones, but it would be perfectly playable using only VATS. Since I didn't play the earlier incarnations, I'm gonna continue comparing it to Oblivion.<br />
<br />
Other <em>good</em> changes are <strong>fully</strong> remappable keys (there's a line at the top of the readme about how to map the mouse, perhaps clumsier than it should be, but it's there), a nice range of toys to shoot at stuff, a much-simplified crafting interface and more variety in costumery. <br />
<br />
<em>Bad</em> changes would be that each weapon needs very specific ammo, the weapons break very easily and you need identically-described weapons to repair existing ones, so inventory space gets used up pretty quickly.<br />
<br />
Another change is that all skills have to be bought at level-up, so while the enemies get tougher, you should theoretically be getting tougher yourself (rather than only leveling when you improved key class-stats) but you can no longer learn things like stealth simply by creeping around a lot.<br />
<br />
What's not changed are instant-travel nodes on the map, the clumsy way the map, inventory and skills are on separate tabs within the same menu and you constantly need to switch between them, the same rather basic compass, characters and monsters seeming to pop out of nowhere and giving you a heart-attack, and the monster NPCs having AI like the red ghost in Pac Man.<br />
<br />
Still it's a excellent game, the VATS system never seems to get old as you think it might and the setting is amazing.</p>3FalloutGameReviewMon, 01 Dec 2008 12:31:52 GMThttp://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/philbrown/entry/fallout_3_apocalyptic/#comments094d73991d6bc0a5011df1f71c3748921Valkyria Chronicles byhttp://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/philbrown/entry/valkyria_chronicles/
<div class="reviewDetails">
<img src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61r4VoteFNL._SL160_.jpg" alt="Game front cover">
<dl><dt>Title:</dt><dd><a title="View game on Amazon" href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/SEGA-VALKYRIA-Valkyria-Chronicles-PS3/dp/B00197U1G6%3FSubscriptionId%3D0E0TF6FTJRRVY83XQ982%26tag%3Dwebservices-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB00197U1G6">Valkyria Chronicles (PS3)</a></dd><dt>Publisher:</dt><dd>Sega</dd><dt>ASIN:</dt><dd>B00197U1G6</dd><dt>Rating:</dt><dd><img src="/blogbuilder/static/images/stars-4-0.gif" alt="4 out of 5 stars" title="4 out of 5 stars"></dd></dl>
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<p><span class="postbody">It seems like forever since I saw the first examples of this game's artwork. It's anime-style, all cell-shaded with a watercolour-on-pencil effect and very fine indeed.&nbsp; The style extends beyond the comic-book-like panes of the chapter-select menu, the artful stills and animated cut-scenes and into the 3-D part of the game itself.<br />
<br />
The actual game between the many cut-scenes is turn-based combat on individual battlefields. You start in map view, and decide which character to move, at which point you gain control of them in 3-D third-person. As you move, your Action Points decrease and any enemies which spot you are free to shoot at you, then you can select aim, target an enemy and fire upon them. It briefly switches to a cinematic attack view as you fire, the enemy gets to retaliate, and then you end your turn. Oddly you have to do alll this quite quickly as you can continue to take damage if you just stand there. Then you can choose another (or the same) character and repeat until you run out of Command Points and it's the enemies turn to do effectively the same thing - but of course without the dangerous moments of indecision you</span> face as a human player. <br />
<br />
That's pretty much it, it's pure strategy with no exploration in-between, but you do get a big number of characters to choose from later on. It's like any of the [JRPG-series-name] Tactics version with the third-person live-action-move mode added on, so if you're looking for an update to those games, with some wonderful stylised graphics, your search is over.<br />
</p>ChroniclesGameReviewValkyriaMon, 01 Dec 2008 12:31:35 GMThttp://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/philbrown/entry/valkyria_chronicles/#comments094d73991d6bc0a5011df201e91848a00Dead Space: Last Place byhttp://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/philbrown/entry/dead_space_last/
<div class="reviewDetails">
<img src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51B0bjX246L._SL160_.jpg" alt="Game front cover">
<dl><dt>Title:</dt><dd><a title="View game on Amazon" href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Electronic-Arts-Dead-Space-PC/dp/B0019840GW%3Fpsc%3D1%26SubscriptionId%3D0E0TF6FTJRRVY83XQ982%26tag%3Dwebservices-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB0019840GW">Dead Space (PC)</a></dd><dt>Publisher:</dt><dd>Electronic Arts</dd><dt>ASIN:</dt><dd>B0019840GW</dd><dt>Rating:</dt><dd><img src="/blogbuilder/static/images/stars-1-0.gif" alt="1 out of 5 stars" title="1 out of 5 stars"></dd></dl>
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<p>Can&rsquo;t remap the controls to my preference. This wouldn&rsquo;t be a problem for most people, but I find it annoying and unnecessary for a PC game to dictate to you what the mouse buttons must do. No amount of remapping would improve the unresponsiveness of the controls, though.</p>
<p>The view is a rather nasty drunken-over-the-shoulder one and your character is drawn so large it&rsquo;s really hard to look around. Being honest, I didn&rsquo;t actually play long enough to judge how scary the monsters and stuff are, because if I struggle to follow some people down a corridor and open a door, I don&rsquo;t need stuff jumping out on me.</p>
<p>Graphically it looks quite nice, but they ruined it with sluggish controls and your stupid big immersion-breaking head covering up where you want to look.</p>DeadGamePCReviewSpaceMon, 01 Dec 2008 12:30:58 GMThttp://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/philbrown/entry/dead_space_last/#comments094d73991d6bc0a5011df1e69959488c0Far Cry 2: A sequel in name byhttp://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/philbrown/entry/far_cry_2/
<div class="reviewDetails">
<img src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61VhWZYgYjL._SL160_.jpg" alt="Game front cover">
<dl><dt>Title:</dt><dd><a title="View game on Amazon" href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/UBI-Soft-Far-Cry-PC/dp/B0010DX5L2%3Fpsc%3D1%26SubscriptionId%3D0E0TF6FTJRRVY83XQ982%26tag%3Dwebservices-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB0010DX5L2">Far Cry 2 (PC)</a></dd><dt>Publisher:</dt><dd>Ubisoft</dd><dt>ASIN:</dt><dd>B0010DX5L2</dd><dt>Rating:</dt><dd><img src="/blogbuilder/static/images/stars-3-0.gif" alt="3 out of 5 stars" title="3 out of 5 stars"></dd></dl>
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<p>Nice-looking but not quite as jaw-dropping as the footage that&rsquo;s been around for a while promised. Playing it, it&rsquo;s a bit lonely &ndash; it is basically sporadic outposts of people with nothing in-between &ndash; I was hoping to be like Bear Grylls and kill some wild animals for no reason.</p>
<p>The fire effects are pretty, but makes the game crash if I get too carried away. The map/monocular thing is a bit clumsy, but the driving is way better than the first game (so a million times better than Crysis) but the view is a bit restricted in the jeeps.</p>
<p>While there are interesting advances, it doesn&rsquo;t really <em>feel</em> like a sequel to the original Far Cry &ndash; that dubious accolade probably goes to Crysis. While all three games are pretty much tech demos with a game built around them, it&rsquo;s Crysis that shares the ludicrous plot diversions which define the first Far Cry.</p>
<p>But Far Cry 2 is certainly the better game, everything in the other two felt rather a slog. It works pretty well most of the time, although you sometimes get murdered through a wall, if it&rsquo;s flawed it&rsquo;s that the missions are all pretty similar and you really have to get creative yourself if you want to keep your interest going.</p>CryCrysisFarGameReviewMon, 01 Dec 2008 12:30:30 GMThttp://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/philbrown/entry/far_cry_2/#comments094d73991d6bc0a5011df1dcb47648771Maddening byhttp://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/philbrown/entry/maddening/
<div class="reviewDetails">
<img src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51AOpItkQ-L._SL160_.jpg" alt="Game front cover">
<dl><dt>Title:</dt><dd><a title="View game on Amazon" href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Electronic-Arts-Madden-NFL-Wii/dp/B000IMBUL8%3FSubscriptionId%3D0E0TF6FTJRRVY83XQ982%26tag%3Dwebservices-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB000IMBUL8">Madden NFL 07 (Wii)</a></dd><dt>Publisher:</dt><dd>Electronic Arts</dd><dt>ASIN:</dt><dd>B000IMBUL8</dd><dt>Rating:</dt><dd><img src="/blogbuilder/static/images/stars-1-0.gif" alt="1 out of 5 stars" title="1 out of 5 stars"></dd></dl>
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<p>As wonderfully incomprehensible to non-fans as the actual sport. Woefully inadequate tutorial for the neophyte. Disappointing amount of Wii-interaction, involving a little flick at the right time, rather than a throw. Played for a full twenty minutes before discovering I was actually &ldquo;controlling&rdquo; the other team to the one I thought I was, though my performance actually dropped after realising this.</p>07GameJohnMaddenNflReviewMon, 01 Dec 2008 12:29:41 GMThttp://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/philbrown/entry/maddening/#comments094d73991d6bc0a5011df20c1d8648af0Google Streets byhttp://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/philbrown/entry/google_streets/
<p class="answer">Writing about web page <a href="http://maps.google.com/" title="Related external link: http://maps.google.com/">http://maps.google.com/</a></p>
<p>Interesting name.</p>
<iframe width="700" height="394" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.com/maps/sv?cbp=1,439.98195682306175,,0,5&amp;cbll=35.667916,139.708336&amp;v=1&amp;panoid=WkFKCeu77D2Zvi_Iv-6wmA&amp;gl=&amp;hl="></iframe>
<br />
<small><a id="cbembedlink" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?cbp=1,439.98195682306175,,0,5&amp;cbll=35.667916,139.708336&amp;ll=35.667916,139.708336&amp;layer=c" style="color:#0000FF;text-align:left">View Larger Map</a></small>GoogleJapanMapTokyoWebTue, 19 Aug 2008 16:38:40 GMThttp://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/philbrown/entry/google_streets/#comments094d73991afdd46a011bdbd5173248900Spore byhttp://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/philbrown/entry/spore/
<p>I&rsquo;ve been quite interested in this game for a while now, and having played with the creature editor, it&rsquo;s interesting how little has changed since some early demos.</p>
<span class="caps">GDC 2005</span> (35m)<br />
<p>
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<span class="caps">E3 2006</span> (18m)<br />
<p>
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<p>I&rsquo;ve avoided looking at anything more recent, as I&rsquo;m quite looking forward to discovering this game when it&rsquo;s released in a few weeks. If it was just an <span class="caps">RTS</span> where you can design your own units, it would be interesting enough &ndash; and this still seems like the meat of the game to me, but it does promise quite a bit more.</p>
<p>I&rsquo;ve recently been playing <em>Sins of a Solar Empire</em> and while conquering solar systems is always fun, doing so with my own creatures I&rsquo;ve designed since they were only cells and dealing with recalcitrant species with Death Star-like powers is pretty much everything a supreme galactic overlord could ask for.</p>GamesSporeVideoMon, 18 Aug 2008 22:19:30 GMThttp://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/philbrown/entry/spore/#comments094d73991afdd46a011bd7e6c70247680360 game card byhttp://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/philbrown/entry/360_game_card/
<p class="answer">Writing about web page <a href="http://live.xbox.com/member/FatherJackZ" title="Related external link: http://live.xbox.com/member/FatherJackZ">http://live.xbox.com/member/FatherJackZ</a></p>
<iframe src="http://gamercard.xbox.com/FatherJackZ.card" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" height="140" width="204">Put your gamertag here too.</iframe>
<p>Hmm, I really need to play some of those games a bit more, and increase that gamerscore thing.</p>Mon, 01 Oct 2007 13:00:34 GMThttp://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/philbrown/entry/360_game_card/#comments094d73991491f6aa01155ba757ab00ba2Photoshop Text Effects byhttp://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/philbrown/entry/photoshop_text_effects/
<p>I updated the logo at the top of this blog, didn't quite get the colours right, though.&nbsp; This was another go I had. </p>
<p><img src="/images/philbrown/2007/09/20/9276logonot.png?maxWidth=500" alt="logonot" border="0" /></p>
<p>Since I have no <em>actual</em> talent, I used a <a title="Photoshop Text Effects" href="http://www.designvitality.com/blog/2007/09/photoshop-text-effect-tutorial/">Photoshop tutorial page</a> which has a range of interesting text effects.&nbsp;</p>BlogBuilderEffectsPhotoshopTextThu, 20 Sep 2007 15:52:42 GMThttp://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/philbrown/entry/photoshop_text_effects/#comments094d73991491f6aa0115239efa3d63be1Team Fortress 2 Beta vids byhttp://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/philbrown/entry/team_fortress_2_1/
<p>These are the introductions to the levels present in the TF2 beta, this one is Dustbowl: </p>
<p></p>
<p>
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</p>
Also showing on YouTube are <a title="2Fort" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYn8ZuRkpWE">2Fort</a>, <a title="Granary" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxO3Z8oSZPs">Granary</a>, <a title="GravelPit" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5S51zX7qIS0">GravelPit</a>, <a title="Hydro" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YqCSQZEqe0">Hydro</a> and <a title="Well" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Quy12p44oV4">Well</a>. <p></p>2BetaFortressGamesIntroMapTeamVideoThu, 20 Sep 2007 15:00:45 GMThttp://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/philbrown/entry/team_fortress_2_1/#comments094d73991491f6aa0115236f6b70634b0